DeKALB – Laurie Elish-Piper, executive vice president and provost, and George Middlemist, chief financial officer, provided an update about NIU’s progres with attempting to cut their $32 million deficit in half by the end of the fiscal year 2025 at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting.
Some of the topics Elish-Piper and Middlemist discussed were how NIU is tracking the budget for fiscal year 2025, budget deficit mitigation strategies and university goals.
Elish-Piper discussed the academic efficiencies that NIU is taking to balance the budget, with the goals being to evaluate/reduce low enrollment courses and reduce curricular complexity.
Middlemist talked about how NIU is attempting to shrink the campus footprint.
“We’re in the process of relocating a few offices into Lowden (Hall). Very good building to have the accounting office. It has the RIPS (Research and Innovation Partnerships), it has OERD (Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development) and a lot of the staff, at least in accounting and purchasing, are working hybrid schedules or highly remote schedules,” Middlemist said. “We are looking to bring HR and some of the OERD and RIPS staff that are in other places just to activate that building by doing the HR staff move. We’re moving them out of the building at Lincoln Highway, and that will present us an opportunity to negotiate work with USGS (United States Geological Survey) to lease that space for them.”
Middlemist also said NIU is in the final stages of executing a several million dollar lease opportunity with its Naperville campus, which could provide revenue to NIU.
VOTING OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT CHANGE TO FACULTY SENATE BYLAWS
As part of Faculty Senate’s unfinished business from their Oct. 2 meeting, members of the Faculty Senate were able to vote either for or against a proposed amendment change to the Faculty Senate bylaws.
The amendments that were proposed to change relate to the duties of the Graduate Council and Baccalaureate Council.
Bylaw 4.4.3.2 establishes standards for admission, retention and awarding graduate degrees by the Graduate School. Bylaw 4.5.3.3 determines undergraduate policies, regulations and standards relating to multiple factors such as academic probation and admission of entering freshman students and transfer students.
Benjamin Creed, president of Faculty Senate, explained the purpose behind the bylaw change.
“Essentially, this is around that coordination work. A realization that both of these bodies have been acting, and precedence is that the intention was that the Graduate Council and Baccalaureate Council would have the duty and responsibility to set standards and policies related to withdrawal and re-entry for graduate students and undergrad students. However, the bylaws did not have those listed, so this is an attempt to update the language to be inclusive of those two areas,” Creed said.
After some discussion regarding the proposed amendments, the vote passed 44-0-2.
The next Faculty Senate meeting will be at 3 p.m. Nov. 20 at Altgeld Hall Auditorium. The agenda is posted prior to each meeting and minutes are posted following each meeting on NIU’s website.
